Intervention
by bionic4ever
Summary: Vis2: Sometimes fate needs a little push from the Great Beyond.
1. Chapter 1

**Intervention**

Chapter One

Jaime walked out of the cemetery shaking her head in disbelief. Who did Steve think he was? It wasn't the first time Steve had paid her a ' visit' when she put flowers on his grave, but before today he'd always given her loving, supportive messages. This day had been different, though. Steve told her she had to go on with her life, which would've been ok by itself, but he took it much further, way overstepping his bounds. He'd had the nerve to tell her Michael Marchetti would be calling to ask her out and Steve had insisted she say yes. He didn't even stop there! He'd gone on to tell her she would marry Michael and have two kids with him! Jaime thought this new bossy streak was extremely ballsy for a dead man. Well, it would be a long time before she brought flowers for him again!

As for Michael - forget it! She hadn't heard from him since Rudy'd had him transferred, more than three years earlier. They'd come very close to falling in love, but Rudy had nipped it in the bud; a doctor/patient romance was simply unethical. Jaime had trouble believing Michael would call her now, out of the clear blue sky.

Whether Steve could 'see' it or not, there was a man Jaime had her eye on, who she knew (hell - everyone knew) had feelings for her, too. She decided to pay him a visit before picking up her daughter from the sitter.

------

"Jaime, hello!" his voice had boomed into the phone. "Actually, I don't have any appointments for the rest of the day. My schedule's clear. Is something wrong?"

"Does something have to be wrong for me to wanna say 'hi'?"

"Of course not; I'd love to see you. Come on over." When he hung up the phone, he pressed the button on his office intercom.

"Yes, Mr. Goldman?" came the crisp, efficient reply.

"Peggy, why don't you go ahead and take the rest of the day off?"

"Sir - it's only 1:30! But...ok. Thank you!"

Oscar put on a fresh pot of coffee, took off his tie, unbuttoned the top two buttons of his shirt, then changed his mind and re-buttoned the lower of the two. The Director of the OSI, for the first time in many years, was actually nervous.

------

Jaime was humming as she drove. Maybe Steve was partially right. It was time to go on with her life, to let herself be happy. He'd been gone over a year...

Steve, meanwhile, had not stopped watching her, but was completely unable to communicate his thoughts to her, outside the cemetery. _Jaime - no! What are you doing? Oscar's one of my favorite people, and yes, he loves you. You could fall hard for him, but this is not your destiny! It would only end badly_ _- in the worst possible way - for both of you. There has to be something I can do..._

------

"Where's Peggy?" Jaime asked, walking right in since Oscar had left the inner door open.

"She's been working really hard; I gave her the afternoon off. It's great to see you, Babe," he said softly, taking her hand in both of his. "Been awhile - how are you holding up?"

"Ok. Good." Jaime smiled brightly at him. "Better now."

Oscar led her to a chair and gallantly seated her. "Coffee? I've still got your favorite cocoa."

"Thanks."

He brought her a mug and sat down across from her, knee-to-knee. Oscar couldn't stop smiling, but neither could she. "How's semi-retirement treating you?"

"It's boring, Oscar. I wanna work."

"No need to rush it," he told her. In actuality, he couldn't bear the thought of exposing her to even the remotest danger.

"The Secretary's got to be all over you by now."

In fact, the Secretary had gone beyond impatient and progressed to furious, but she didn't need to know that. "You let me worry about the Secretary," he said.

They talked for almost two hours, not as a boss and employee, but as a man and a woman. Neither of them knew it, but Steve hovered just behind Jaime's shoulder, like a guard dog, the whole time. When Jaime stood to leave, Oscar took both of her hands and smiled right into her eyes. "If you aren't busy tomorrow, I'd love to take you to lunch," he told her.

"**_NO_**!" Steve's soul screamed. _You need to be home when Michael calls!_

"I'd really like that," Jaime answered, leaning up to kiss his cheek before she left.

_Damn! Ok - time to come up with a plan..._


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter Two - the next day

Jaime was as excited as a schoolgirl as she dressed for her lunch date with Oscar. Her daughter toddled around the room on chubby 11-month-old legs, returning every few minutes to stare at a spot just above Jaime's shoulder. "Daddy!" she kept saying, excitedly.

"No, Honey - Mommy." Jaime didn't realize that very young children can sometimes see things the rest of us are too jaded to see.

"Daddy!" the child insisted.

She was right; Steve was hovering again, enjoying the sight of his two 'girls' happily getting ready for the day. Jaime would soon find out, though, that it wouldn't be the day she was expecting._ I'm sorry, Sweetheart, but this time I had to interfere._ _I like Oscar a lot, and he would treat you very well, but if you became a couple, within six months, you would both be dead. That is not your destiny!_

------

Jaime pulled out of the baby-sitter's driveway, humming once again as she drove. She navigated the deserted country road between the sitter's house and downtown DC with a smile so big it almost hurt. Suddenly, her car began to shake violently on the right side, and the front end went _plunk:_ a flat tire.

Dammit - I don't have time for this, she thought, angry and frustrated. She went to the trunk for the spare, and grew even more upset. The spare was flat, too.

------

Oscar, who'd been brimming with high expectations and excitement himself, was also very frustrated at that moment. The Secretary had called to demand a meeting with him immediately. He couldn't even wait around to explain it to Jaime. He left a message for her with Callahan and had no choice but to go.

------

Back at her car, Jaime was cursing her bad luck and debating whether or not to leave the car and walk, when a white sports car with Colorado plates pulled up behind her. The driver got out and, smiling, walked toward her. Jaime was completely blown away with shock. _Michael!_

"You're just having a bad day all around, huh?" Michael observed.

"Spare's flat, too. Hi, Michael."

"Sorry about your lunch date."

"What about my lunch date?" Jaime asked.

"Oh. I guess you haven't been over there yet. I saw Oscar on his way out of the building; he's got an emergency meeting with the Secretary, had to leave a message for you with Callahan. Sorry - I just made your bad day worse, didn't I?"

Jaime kicked the ground lightly with her toe then looked up at Michael. She'd forgotten just how utterly handsome the young doctor was. Their eyes caught each other and held. "I'll give you a ride into town, Jaime. And, if you'd like, I'd be happy to take you to lunch..."

"Michael, I would love to go to lunch. Thank you."

Steve smiled to himself and realized he no longer needed to hover. Mission accomplished.

END


End file.
